Searching

• If you know the name (common or scientific) of the plant you are looking for, search the index and click on the name to go to the page that covers that plant.

• If you do not know the name, go to the Search by Color page that most closely matches the color of the flower, find the closest match and click on the photo to go to the page.

• Click the back button on your browser to return to the search page.

The search pages are organized by family (in alphabetical order of the scientific name for the family) and then by genus (likewise in alphabetical order of the scientific name). In this way, similar flowers will be found close to each other,

The main pages generally cover several closely related plants so that finding a reasonably close match in the Search by Color pages should get you to the right page.

Color can be tricky. Pink merges imperceptibly into lavender and pinkish-purple which in turn merges imperceptibly into bluish-purple and then blue. Deciding where to put flowers that fall into the pinkish-purple to bluish-purple part of the spectrum is unavoidably subjective. In some cases flowers with slightly differing colors are kept together so as to keep closely related plants on the same search page. If in doubt, look on both the blue and the pink search pages.

Common Names

The common names used on this site follow those used in Matthews & Mitchell’s The Plants of Monterey County – an Illustrated Field Key and Yeager & Mitchell’s Monterey County Wildflowers – a Field Guide. While other common names are certainly used for many of the plants, it is hoped that a degree of consistency in usage will reduce the scope for ambiguity. While ambiguity may be creative in certain situations, this is not one of them.

Flower Sizes

The individual flower pages give an indication of the size of the flower. These can only be a rough guide as individual flowers vary in size, even on the same plant. The key used is as follows, the diameter for individual flowers, the height or length for clusters:

Very small < ¼ inch / 6.25 mm

Small ¼ – ½ inch / 6.25 –12.5 mm

Medium ½– 1 inch / 12.5 – 25 mm

Large > 1 inch / 25 mm

Small cluster < 2 inches / 5 cm

Medium cluster 2 – 4 inches / 5 – 10 cm

Large cluster > 4 inches / 10 cm

Habitat

Many plants have a clear preference for a particular kind of habitat. Like people, some are choosier than others. A general indication is given of the kind of habitat in which a particular plant may be found. Some like it dry, others like it damp, some like sandy soil, coastal or otherwise, some like heavy clay, some even prefer serpentine. And so it goes on. A plant will, of course, not always be found even where the conditions / habitat are right; it is however unlikely to be found unless the conditions / habitat are right.

Rare & Endangered Plants

Where a plant is on the CNPS Rare & Endangered Plant Inventory, it is given a ranking. This has 2 elements, the first representing the degree of rarity or endangerment and the second representing the degree of threat.